Portella Mandrazzi (South side)

Portella Mandrazzi (South side)

Portella Mandrazzi, 1,125 m, is the pass where the Peloritani mountains meet the Nebrodi, in north-east Sicily, Italy. The Giro d’Italia has used this side to test the sprinters. In 2020 and again in 2022 the teams raised the pace on the long climb, and several sprinters were dropped. Both times Arnaud Démare survived the climb and won the stage.

This ride climbs the Alcantara valley, past the entrance to the river’s gorges. The river’s name comes from the Arabic al-Qantarah, ‘the arch’, after a Roman-era bridge. Its gorges were cut through an old lava flow from Etna. The road continues through Francavilla di Sicilia to the pass, then drops beneath Rocca Salvatesta, a rock spur above Novara di Sicilia, and the ride ends just below the village.